


The Silence Between the Birdsong

by elrhiarhodan



Series: Birdsong [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Jarrison, Kissing, M/M, Pesach Fic, Slow Burn, The Start of Something Wonderful, Too Much Big Belly Burger, UST
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-06-04 02:43:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6638164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrhiarhodan/pseuds/elrhiarhodan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harrison Wells, settling into a much quieter life on this Earth, finds he only needs a few things - his daughter's love, his science, and the friendship of a man who'd punched him in the face.  </p><p>Twice.  </p><p>Things become a little confusing when he acknowledges that he wants something more than friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Silence Between the Birdsong

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for 2.18 - **Versus Zoom**.
> 
> I don't really have enough words to express my disappointment in **Versus Zoom** , but there were two very redeeming scenes - when Harry shows up at Joe's house (and freaks Wally out), and then in the Time Vault. The chemistry between those two was, at least for me, off the charts.
> 
> And that resulted in this.
> 
> Many thanks to Miri_Thompson for the idea about the additional question at Seder and for her super-quick beta.

Harry Wells never went home, at least not permanently. 

Barry got his speed back, Zoom was nothing more than dust and really bad memories, Cisco was slowly reconciling himself to his new abilities, and Harrison Wells desperately needed a new life.

He also needed his daughter to be happy. It was a pity, though, that every conversation they'd had since Zoom had been defeated was like navigating through a minefield.

The last night of his last trip to their own Earth, they'd sat together in his office. He signed his letter of resignation from S.T.A.R. Labs, transferred the last of his personal wealth into a type non-fiat digital currency account that was valid on both worlds, and then looked at his child, love and pride and weary resignation in his eyes.

"Well? Have you made up your mind?"

"If I stay, will you come back to visit?"

"No, Jesse. I can't." He swallowed against the lump in his throat.

"You'd let me go? You'd leave me here?"

"It's what you want. A chance to live your own life without me constantly trying to fix things. Your grandparents adore you, you'll be happy here. If you want, you can change your name." 

"But forever? You'll never come back?"

"No. You'll always be my Jesse Quick, and a day won't go by when I won't miss you. But I can't hold you captive to my own shortcomings."

She smiled, just a little. "And they are legion."

He smiled back. Also, just a little. "Yes, they are.

"You'd really do this?"

Harry nodded.

"And what if I go with you? What then?"

"You'll have the life you want there, too. I'd make sure of that."

"An apartment of my own?"

"Not yet. You're still seventeen. But when you're ready, yes." 

"So, I'd live with you until then?" She sounded so unhappy about that.

"No. I've talked with Joe West. Barry's moving into his own apartment again. Detective West will have a spare bedroom for you. I think you'll like it." Harry tried not to think about Joe's twenty year old son who'd be in the next bedroom.

"Why can't I live with you?"

"I didn't think you'd want to."

"Well, not if it's two cots in a converted storeroom at S.T.A.R. Labs."

"I'll be living at the lab for the foreseeable future, but eventually I'll get a house, probably close to Joe's. Something small. I'd be close by." _You could live there with me._

Jesse didn't look at him for a while. The silence was unbearable. Harry got up, shouldered the pulse rifle, picked up the last few bags with the things he needed to take with him, and prepared to go down to the portal. "I need to go. Barry's going to be here in a few minutes."

Jesse still didn't say anything and his heart just broke.

He picked up a letter. "Give this to your grandparents, they'll take good care of you. I've made provisions for you. You'll have everything you need."

"Except you."

"I can't stay here. And you don't want to leave. This is the best I can do." 

He started towards the door.

"Daddy!"

He stopped, but refused to look back.

"Don't leave me."

Harry dropped his bags, dropped the rifle, and finally turned back towards his child. She ran into his arms. "No, never. Never." He held her tight and felt her tears soak into his skin. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." 

They clung to each other and while he was consumed with relief that his child still loved him, still wanted his love, still needed him, he couldn't stop thinking. Rearranging plans, putting together contingencies. The resignation letter was not going to get ripped up. He needed to step down from S.T.A.R. Labs if this place was going to survive. But he could start over. If not in Central City, then maybe in Starling or Coast or National. As long as he had Jesse, at least for a little while longer, he'd survive.

The team back on the other Earth, the family he'd almost become part of, would understand. His daughter needed to come first.

Jesse finally pulled back and, as if she was five years old, wiped her face with her sleeve. "So, do I have time to pack my stuff?"

"What?"

"I'm coming with you."

Harry was confused. "I don't understand. You want to stay, so I'm staying."

"Dad - you just finished telling me you can't stay."

"But you don't want to go. You have a life here."

Jesse shrugged. "It's not like my friends are eager for my company. Not since you came clean about the accident. And I'll miss grandma and grandpa, but they're not _you_. They'll suffocate me."

"And I won't?"

"You protect me. They still think I'm six years old and everything can be fixed with a piece of jelly candy or some chicken soup."

Harry let out a tiny sigh of relief. "Okay, okay. So - you really want to come to Earth-2."

"Don't let Cisco hear you call it that. But yeah. I do. I always did."

"Really?" Harry couldn't keep the skepticism out of his voice.

"Yes, really. I guess I just wanted it to be my choice. Thank you for letting me make it."

Harry smiled. His daughter was becoming a master manipulator and he couldn't be prouder. Then his watch pinged. "Barry's waiting for me. Come down and let's tell him the good news."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It was a Friday night and Harry was working late. Hartley and Cisco and Caitlin, Barry and Iris, Wally and his daughter were out and enjoying themselves. Not at a dance club, but at the local bowling alley. Having some good, clean fun.

He and Tessa had loved to go bowling and he almost regretted not accepting everyone's offer to join in. But that would have been awkward. Maybe if Joe West had been part of the party, but that would have been even more awkward - watching his foster-son and his daughter's blossoming romance, watching his son's delicate dance around _his_ daughter.

No, not happening.

And speak of the devil, the security program just sent him an alert that Joe had just badged into the building. He checked the cameras and the man was carrying two bags with the Big Belly Burger logo on them. Joe West was a savior.

A few minutes later, Harry heard the elevator doors slide open, then Joe's distinctive footfall.

"Understand the kids left you here, all by your lonesome." Joe dropped the bags on one of the work consoles. 

"They are allowed to have some fun without the old man, as my daughter would say."

Joe laughed. "It's kind of like they're all back in high school. Group dates."

Harry wouldn't know about that. He'd finished high school when he was thirteen. "Safety in numbers." He reached into one of the bags and pulled out a double-double.

"That's another way of thinking of it," Joe replied laconically. 

"What about you? You don't seem to have much of a social life."

Joe shrugged. "I'm a cop. I think that pretty much negates having a social life. No one wants to date a cop."

"Seriously?" Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "You're oozing respectability and responsibility."

"That may be, but – " Joe shook his head. "It never felt right, knowing that my wife was still alive. And now… "

"Too much effort?"

"Yeah. How do I explain to someone that not only do I chase murderers and thieves, but I provide backup support to the local superhero team? And most of the time, I'm probably going to have to mysteriously cancel a dinner date because my foster son needs my help saving the world."

Harry chuckled. "That's true. I guess it's a good thing that Iris knows about Barry. I remember when he was dating that partner of yours."

"Patty - yeah. It was kind of torturous watching those two."

Harry was curious. "Were you rooting for them, or did you secretly hope that Barry and Iris would get their act together?"

"All I want is for my children to be happy."

Harry lifted his drink in a not-so-mock toast, "Amen to that."

"I've watched Barry break his heart over my daughter for half a lifetime. It's time that boy had some of his dreams come true."

Harry wondered about that. "It didn't seem awkward? When you were raising them, they were practically siblings?"

"When I took him in, Barry was eleven and Iris had been his best friend for years, since they were in kindergarten. If Nora hadn't been killed, I think those two would have been engaged by prom night. Not that I would have approved when they were that young, but I think it was inevitable."

Harry liked watching Barry and Iris together. She completed Barry, she grounded him, made him far less impetuous. He was still the hero, but he was so much more careful now. "There's something so satisfying about seeing two people in love."

"Or three."

Harry finished his burger before commenting on that. "Yes. That's an unexpected triumvirate. It's good to see Caitlin smile."

"Think it will last?" 

Harry shrugged. "Maybe, but probably not. Hartley and Cisco, yes. I think Caitlin will take what she needs from them and move on. And they'll all remain friends."

Joe laughed. "Kids - I couldn't imagine doing that."

"What, having a relationship with another man?" Harry asked the question with studied casualness.

"No, with two other people. How do you keep from getting jealous?"

"I think that Cisco has a huge heart, and Hartley, too. They've both been terribly wounded, they've seen the damage inflicted on Caitlin and want her to be happy, and if that includes intimacy, they are strong enough to give her that."

"When did you become such a wise man?"

He shrugged again. "Don't think I'm particularly wise, Detective."

"I think you can call me Joe. You have called me Joe. You just like to retreat into formality when you're uncomfortable."

"You're very observant, _Joe_."

"That's why I've got the shiny gold shield and a prime desk at the CCPD. For being 'observant'."

A strange sort of happiness settled into Harry's bones. 

Joe finished his burger and tossed the wrapper into the trashcan. "There's one couple we haven't talked about, though."

"My daughter, your son."

"You terrify Wally, you know."

"Good." Harry leaned back and grinned.

"I've told him if he so much as steps an inch over the line – "

"Micron, Joe. An inch is way too far."

"Regardless, I told him that you carry that pulse rifle like a three year old carries around a blanket. And you're not afraid to use it."

"Exactly right."

"I suppose you do know that your daughter and mine and Caitlin have been taking Krav Maga lessons."

"Krav Maga?" He was unfamiliar with that term.

"A type of hand to hand combat training. No holds barred, leave 'em broken and bloody on the ground style of fighting. Iris says that Jesse's pretty dedicated to it. She's becoming quite the warrior."

"No, that I didn't know. I thought the girls were spending their Thursday evenings at Jitters, or shopping." Harry wasn't sure he liked not knowing what his daughter was up to.

"I think that comes after the lessons. And anyway, my point is, your daughter is learning how to hold her own. My son knows if he makes Jesse the least bit uncomfortable, she'll beat him to a bloody pulp. And if he survives that, not only will you kill him, I'll do the burying. No West man crosses the line."

Harry nodded. "Good to know. But my daughter's barely eighteen, and your boy's over twenty."

Joe sighed and gave him the stinkeye. "Let her grow up."

Harry reached for the fries, took one and grimaced. They were cold. "How were you when Iris was eighteen?"

"Over protective and overbearing. I greeted every date wearing my shoulder rig and my service weapon. Sat on the front porch, cleaning my shotgun, waiting for them to come home. Which was why Iris started going out on group dates. A lot healthier for everyone."

"I like the way you think, Joe." 

Dinner finished, Harry made a reluctant gesture at his work table. "I need to finish this."

"No problem. I'll get out of your hair."

Harry replied with studied diffidence, "You can hang around if you want." 

"You don't mind? I do kind of enjoy watching you science."

He burst out laughing. "Science is not a verb."

"You know what I mean. I like watching you work."

Harry blinked, not sure what Joe was saying. And apparently it wasn't what he was thinking.

"I like watching the creative process. I think I've seen every episode of 'How It's Made' at least twice."

"Ah." He had no clue what that was. "Well, I can't guarantee I'll be as entertaining."

"Don't worry about it."

Harry tried not to feel self-conscious about having someone's eyes on him as he worked. But Joe was a considerate observer. He didn't ask any questions, he didn't interfere or hover, and when Harry - without even thinking about it - asked him to be another pair of hands, he stepped up without comment.

"Thanks." Harry rolled back from the workbench, feeling extremely satisfied.

"So, what did you just build?"

He got up and went over to Barry's suit, took the emblem off and slotted his creation into the small panel behind it.

"Wells?" Joe's tone was a trifle suspicious.

"Watch." Harry replaced the emblem and tapped it twice. The suit _disappeared_.

"What the hell?" 

Harry grinned as the suit reappeared a few seconds later. "Cisco's been working on a new material, something hyper-reflective. That was the power supply for it."

"Wow." Joe touched the suit and stepped back. "You've just invented invisibility."

"It still needs some work, but we're getting there." Harry stretched, feeling every day of his fifty-two years. "I think, though, for tonight, I'm done."

"Want to go celebrate?"

Harry cast a side look at Joe. "Celebrate?"

"A drink? Some adult conversation?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" He gestured to his face.

"Right, right. You could come back to my place. This way, I can just roll you home when you're too wasted to drive." 

Harry chuckled. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten shitfaced. "Sounds like a good plan."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The invitation to Seder was as appreciated as it was unexpected.

Joe explained, "My mother's grandmother was Jewish, and her parents raised her as a cultural Jew. She didn't convert when she married my dad and I grew up celebrating both sets of holidays in a sort of generic way."

"Tessa was Jewish. I converted for her sake - or at least for the sake peace within the family. And I'm an atheist."

"Doesn't surprise me."

"Why?"

"Doesn't it go hand in hand with the whole sciencing thing?"

Harry knew Joe was baiting him with the "sciencing" and ignored the comment. "Jesse and I would be delighted to attend."

"Just so you know, we're kind of free-form. Iris and Barry put together a Haggadah when they were in junior high. It's a collection of things and stuff. Lots of non-traditional things and stuff."

"As long as the wine keeps flowing, I don't care."

"Oh, the wine definitely flows." Joe clapped him on the shoulder. "Wear loose pants. There will be lots and lots of food." 

"You're cooking?" Harry had experienced Joe's cuisine several times over the past few months. He enjoyed it, it was comfort food at its finest.

"Yup. I've got the soup and the meat. Barry does the matzoh balls and the charoset. Iris bakes and makes the vegetables."

"Sounds like you're going all out."

"Yeah, well it's the first time we're celebrating in three years." Joe rubbed the back of his neck. "First year, Barry was in a coma. The next year, we were kind of mopping up after the Singularity. Last year - "

"No one was in mood?" This time, last year, Zoom had stolen Barry speed, Jesse was in the wind, and he'd been kidnapped.

"Exactly."

"Anything I can do?"

"Want to bring the wine?"

Harry nodded. "Would be delighted."

Two evenings later, Harry arrived at the West household, wine in hand. Or in hands, more accurately. There was a three-liter jug of Mogen David Concord Red in his right, and a carrier bag in his left with a half-dozen bottles of some slightly more civilized vintages. Jesse has gone over to the Wests earlier to help out.

He found himself strangely ambivalent about this evening. Living just a few blocks away, he and his daughter were frequent guests at the West abode, with and without other members of Team Flash. Casual evenings with too much food and a lot of laughter. He enjoyed watching his daughter blossom. Wally West, who he had to admit, was pretty close to perfect for his child - beyond the obvious intelligence and the respect he accorded Jesse, they had bonded over their shared trauma at Zoom's hands. Wally understood Jesse and her conflicting desire to forget and the need to talk with someone who got it.

And it was more than just seeing his daughter's happiness. More and more, Harry found himself drawn to Joe West. Did he ever think he'd find such utter decency so attractive?

Not that anything would ever come of that. Harry had no delusions - illusions - about himself. He was strange and difficult and without the shine from twenty years in the spotlight, he wasn't anyone's ideal companion.

And then there was the matter of his sex. He had no reason to believe that Joe West would ever be attracted to another man. To him, least of all.

So he told himself to be contented with the friendship Joe had offered and leave it at that.

Iris opened the door, looking a little stressed out. "Welcome." She saw what he was carrying and immediately relaxed. "Oh, wonderful, you brought the wine." She practically grabbed it out of his hands. "I completely forgot about it."

"I told your father I'd bring it."

"Which he neglected to tell me."

"Dad!" Jesse came bounding out. "Come on." She dragged him into the living room, which smelled like his idea of heaven. Cooking meat, fried onions, chicken soup, other complementary aromas. He'd put up with a lot from Tessa's parents for the sake of their food. 

There were platters of crudites and cheese and other assorted snacks set up on the buffet. And a basket of kippahs. Jesse was sporting a pretty blue velvet one and Harry selected one crocheted from rainbow colored cotton. His daughter didn't comment on his choice, but helped pin it to his messy mop of curls.

"Hey, Harry." Barry came out of the kitchen with another platter and set it down on the buffet. "You might want to start filling up now. It'll be about three hours before the actual meal."

"I've been to a Seder before."

"I know - Jesse mentioned that. Just didn't know how traditional you were."

"I'm not traditional - it was my in-laws. And they were traditional enough."

Barry headed back into the kitchen and Harry started to graze. The doorbell rang and when no one came out to answer it, Harry opened the door. 

To find Cisco, Hartley and Caitlin on the other side.

The three of them seemed a little shocked to see him. Hartley recovered first. " _A zissen Pesach_ Dr. Wells."

"And to you, too, Hartley. All of you."

Cisco commented, "Didn't know you were coming."

"Joe invited me." Harry didn't know why he felt so defensive. He was as much a part of the team as anyone.

"Awesome." 

Caitlin gave him a shy smile and the trio headed towards the buffet. Barry popped out of the kitchen again, as did Iris. Followed by Jesse and Wally. Wally came over to him and made small talk for a few minutes. He knew he still freaked the boy out and he didn't hesitate to exploit that, to Jesse's consternation.

The boy wandered back to Jesse and Harry decided to check up on Joe.

The West kitchen reminded him of S.T.A.R. Labs, his S.T.A.R. Labs, the hour before the particle accelerator went on-line. Highly ordered chaos - an oxymoron, but accurate. Every burner had a pot simmering, there were several toaster ovens going, plus the wall oven. Every inch of available counter space was covered with food.

Joe looked up from a huge pot of soup and smiled at him. Harry felt his stomach drop. On his head was a skullcap, also in rainbow colors. He swallowed. "Need a hand with anything?"

"Nope, I think I've got everything under control. Want a taste?" Joe picked up a spoon and gestured towards the soup. 

"Sure."

He scooped up some of the golden liquid and held it out, "Careful, it's hot." 

Harry blew on the spoon and took a taste. "Mmm. Delicious."

"Does it need anything?"

"A bowl, maybe?"

Joe grinned. "There's plenty to go around. Provided that Barry doesn't do the whole speedster eating thing tonight."

Harry grinned back.

"Dad! It's almost sundown."

Joe let out a hard sigh. "I guess it's time to begin. You sure you're up to this? Still time to head for the hills."

Harry reached up at patted his kippah. "I'm in."

"It's going to be a long night." Joe slung an arm around his shoulder and gave a casual squeeze. 

Harry felt his heart start to race. "Then let's get started."

There was a bit of a power play between the West siblings for the seat closest to Joe and Harry took matters into his own hands. He told Wally to sit next to his daughter and Iris to sit next to Barry and he took the apparently coveted seat next to Joe.

Barry filled everyone's glass from the bottle of Mogen David, including his daughter's, and when he raised an eyebrow, she gave him the stinkeye. 

And thus the ritual began. The passing of the Seder plate, the eating of the bitter herbs, the blessing of the matzoh, all familiar to him, but not to some. Hartley, who'd apparently made a study of the evening, explained things _sotto voce_ to Cisco, Caitlin and Wally. The Haggadahs were, as Joe had explained, homemade things in cracked binders. Much of the actual text was unfamiliar, but interesting enough to keep his attention. 

What he thought was unusual was that in addition to the traditional four questions, which Jesse - as the youngest - asked with a certain panache, the West Haggadah had one more question, which everyone at the table was supposed to answer:

Jesse asked, "What are you freed from, and what are you freed for?"

In an instant, the mood turned sober. Joe intervened, "You don't have answer if it upsets you."

His daughter smiled, but it was a sad expression. "I didn't realize, until this moment, just how meaningful this holiday is." She took a deep breath and answered, "I was truly a hostage, to my father's arrogance."

That stung, but it was the truth. He acknowledged that with a nod.

"But I was also a hostage to my own unreasonable expectations, my immature demands that the world be ordered in stark black and white. I was freed to see that the world is filled with color, that I cannot expect perfection in others or command it in myself."

Harry pulled off his glasses and wiped his eyes.

The others answered the question, too, and each response was just as heartrending. When it came to his turn - the last one, Harry debated passing. But how could he? Each person here had bared a part of his soul. Barry talked about the binding of betrayed trust and moving beyond his bitterness, of having the freedom to love. Wally spoke of losing and finding family, Caitlin about grief. Cisco and Hartley were eloquent about the strictures of expectation. Joe talked about his fear - for his family, his friends, fear of change and the need to protect.

"This year has been - " Harry swallowed around the lump in his throat, "A revelation. I have been freed from my arrogance - " There was definitely laughter around the table. "My hubris, my expectation of order and command. I have been freed to be a man my daughter is proud to call her father, to do good work for something more than the sake of progress, be relied on and to rely on people in return. To have friends."

Thank god for the wine. Sweet and sticky and barely drinkable under any other circumstance, Harry downed the glass and felt the heady rush of sugar and alcohol burn in his veins.

The rest of the ritual continued in a purple haze. Joe and Barry took turns reading. There was singing and the matzoh and the hiding of it and more wine - always more wine.

Finally the food came. By the time he'd finished the second bowl of soup, he'd sobered up and offered to help ferry the rest of the food out of the kitchen.

Joe put a heavy hand on his shoulder and pressed him back into his seat. "This is why I have kids."

And true enough, Barry and Iris had press-ganged Wally into server duty. Everything was more delicious than the last and Harry thought he just might explode.

_It would have been enough for us_

There was still the rest of the Passover story to go through, and he half hoped that Barry might speed them all through it. But at least there was still more horrible delicious wine and when Joe offered to open a bottle of the Baron Herzog red he'd brought, Harry declined in favor of another glass of Mad Dog.

Finally, and at last, the door was opened for Elijah, which Barry said he hoped wasn't a time wraith. Hartley said he'd brought the gloves, just in case.

Joe got to his feet, and Harry was strangely delighted to see that the other man was more than a bit unsteady. "And now, for the moment everyone's been waiting for - _Chad Gadya_!" He started the first round, _"One little goat, one little goat, that my father bought for two zuzim."_

The singing and the clapping was almost too much for him as the song went on and on. The cat and the dog and the stick and the fire. The water and the ox and the butcher and the Angel of Death. And finally, the Holy One - whatever that was - came and put an end to it all. 

It was just so damn exhausting.

Joe tugged on his sleeve. "Come on."

"What?"

"It's walking time. The kids will clean up. We'll have dessert when we get back. After all the work is done."

"Fresh air. I think I need some." The house felt warm and a little suffocating.

Joe handed him his jacket and they were both a little unsteady as they made it down the front steps. The neighborhood was quiet and Harry wondered what time it was. He managed to flip his watch open and forced his eyes to focus. "It's after twelve!"

"And you're surprised?"

"Kind of. Don't remember Seders at Tessa's parents going this long."

"You sound like you had a good relationship with them."

Harry stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Good enough. They loved their daughter, they wanted her to be happy. They just weren't so sure _I_ could make her happy. We waited a long time to have Jesse."

"Barry's taken Jesse back to see them a few times."

"Yeah - it wouldn't be fair otherwise."

"You don't go back, though."

"No. My life is here." He took a deep breath and the cool night air helped clear the fog.

"Good."

Harry looked over at Joe. "Good?"

"Yeah. You keep going back and forth, it's gotta mess with your head. Your priorities. Jesse's young, I'm guessing her grandparents are pretty elderly - so at some point, that's going to come to a natural end."

"Cisco checks on them once a day - just to make sure. He says that vibing them is like stepping into a closet filled with mothballs. But yeah, they are in their nineties." He started to wonder how he'd ever thought he'd be able to leave Jesse with them.

"Amazing how complicated things get. Make just one change, so many other things have to fall into line."

"And that's not even time travel."

"Just inter-dimensional world hopping."

They walked in silence for several more blocks and with each step, Harry sobered up just a little more. He kind of regretted that. They came to a small playground and he went in. Joe followed.

"Used to bring Barry and Iris here all the time. Barry loved to run, even then, but Iris wanted to soar on the swings."

Harry sat down on one of the swings. It was a little tight and close to the ground. "The first time I met Tessa, she punched me in the face."

"What?" Joe was obviously startled by his non sequitur.

"Yeah. I made some tasteless crack about one of her colleagues. It was stupid and sexist and I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. I deserved the bloody nose and the shiners Tessa gave me."

"She obviously forgave you."

"I had to earn it."

"I'm sure you did."

Harry got up off the swing. The motion was making him a little queasy. He followed Joe over to the jungle gym. They both leaned back against the wood climbing structure. "How many times have you punched me in the face?"

"Twice. Once after Zoom nearly killed Barry, and once after Iris was hurt. Shot at you, too."

"You missed." Harry smiled a little at the memory.

"Nope, Barry caught the bullets."

"Right."

Harry looked up at the stars. Orion was low in the sky, it was getting late in the season for the great hunter. Then he looked back at Joe. "I'm going to give you a chance to punch me in the face for a third time."

There was just enough light to read the puzzlement in Joe's eyes. He moved closer and lifted his hand, giving Joe every opportunity to move away. To punch him in the face. But Joe didn't move. He brushed his fingers along Joe's beard, enjoying the contrast in texture - the smooth skin, the silky mass of hair. And Joe still didn't move.

But under his fingers, Harry could feel Joe smile. 

Harry whispered, almost to himself, "I don't know how this happened."

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not."

He leaned in and kissed him. Joe's lips were soft and mobile as he kissed him back. He tasted of too-sweet wine and suddenly, Harry was drunk again.

And it was wonderful.

__

FIN

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to follow me at my tumblr [Obscene Circus Ponies](http://elrhiarhodan.tumblr.com/), or on my old school (and much beloved) [LiveJournal](http://elrhiarhodan.livejournal.com/) account.


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